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Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Molyneux answers listener questions from X, examining the relationship between objective and subjective truths, asserting that objectivity is tied to human consciousness. He discusses Universally Preferable Behavior (UPB), critiques moral arguments for God's existence, and addresses practical issues like divorce and inheritance. Molyneux highlights the dangers of nihilism, calls for active moral engagement, and concludes that value is subjective and individual responsibility is crucial. He emphasizes the need for proactive philosophical inquiry to combat moral decay in society.   FOLLOW ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneux  GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK! https://peacefulparenting.com/  Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!  Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!  You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!  See you soon! https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Transcript

00:00:00All right. Hello, everybody. It is the 29th of August, 2025. And questions, comments, issues, challenges from the great and noble and censorship-resistant platform of X. You can follow me at Stefan Molyneux. And if you find these answers to be helpful, if they clear up issues in your life, I would very much appreciate your support at freedomain.com slash donate.

00:00:29That's freedomain.com slash donate. All right. So, someone has put forward an argument. To be objective is to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence of human minds or brains. I'll read the whole argument, and then we'll get into it.

00:00:49Gravity continues to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence of human minds and or brains. Therefore, gravity is objective.

00:00:57Morality grounded in God continues to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence of human minds and or brains. Therefore, morality grounded in God is objective.

00:01:09Universally preferable behavior, my theory of ethics, does not continue to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including absence of human minds and or brains. Therefore, UPB is not objective.

00:01:20The moral argument. The moral argument for God. One. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist.

00:01:27Two. Objective moral values do exist. Three. Therefore, God exists.

00:01:32To put this in an analogy, if an object blocking the light does not exist, a shadow does not exist.

00:01:39If a shadow exists, an object blocking the light exists.

00:01:43In other words, we don't see the object directly. We see its effects.

00:01:47It's a black hole we cannot see, but we can see the effects of it on its gravity well on matter around it.

00:01:55So, I appreciate the argument deeply, and I thank you for providing it, and let us go through it in a little bit more detail.

00:02:04To be objective is to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence of human minds and or brains.

00:02:12Now, I wouldn't say that is true.

00:02:16Existence exists independent of opinion and or thought.

00:02:22There are objects in the solar system that we have not observed.

00:02:27You know, they could certainly exist and so on.

00:02:30So, existence is a different matter.

00:02:33Objectivity, or to be objective, is a function of human consciousness.

00:02:42So, the reason for that is because objective compared to what?

00:02:49Well, objective is typically compared to or contrasted with subjective.

00:02:55Objective versus subjective.

00:02:56I had a dream last night about flying.

00:03:00That was my subjective experience in the dream.

00:03:02But it is not objectively true that I can fly.

00:03:06So, objective versus subjective is really important.

00:03:13Now, if we're going to say that there's something called objective,

00:03:18objective, that is to have an opinion in your mind that refers to things that exist outside the mind.

00:03:28To have opinions in the mind that accurately refer to things that exist outside the mind.

00:03:33So, if I say that is an oak tree, if it is in fact an oak tree,

00:03:38then what I'm saying is true because I'm referencing something objective outside my mind.

00:03:45But if I say, I like that oak tree because I remember climbing it as a child,

00:03:51I have fond memories of that oak tree, that is not objective.

00:03:54That is a subjective experience of the oak tree.

00:03:59If I say, I can walk through that oak tree, I am incorrect because I cannot walk through a tree.

00:04:07If I say, I think I really want to climb that tree.

00:04:10I think I can.

00:04:11I think I can.

00:04:12Well, that's a different matter, right?

00:04:14Because that is a subjective opinion.

00:04:17Maybe I can prove it or not by climbing the tree or whatever it is, right?

00:04:21So, to be objective is to exist independent of opinion and or thought,

00:04:25including the absence of human minds and or brains.

00:04:28But objective refers to beliefs held in the mind that accurately correspond to things in the real world.

00:04:38Right?

00:04:38Does that?

00:04:39I think that makes sense.

00:04:39I don't want to over-explain.

00:04:40So, objective is a state of mind in which you're accurate about the external world.

00:04:49Subjective is your own personal thoughts and experiences.

00:04:55Cheesecake is made of dairy, is objective.

00:04:58I like cheesecake or I dislike cheesecake, is subjective.

00:05:03So, to be objective is to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence

00:05:08of human minds and or brains.

00:05:10So, I would say not that that is objective, because that is an operation of consciousness

00:05:17to have an objective thought which accurately maps onto reality versus a subjective thought

00:05:22or experience.

00:05:22I like, I prefer, I think, I wonder, I dream, or whatever it is, right?

00:05:26So, to be objective cannot exist in the absence of human minds, because objectivity is an operation

00:05:35of consciousness wherein your beliefs accurately map to the world as a whole.

00:05:40Now, we have the word exists or existence, so I'm not really sure why we would say existence,

00:05:48which is the presence of something that's independent of human consciousness, right?

00:05:53A tree exists, whether or not anyone has seen it, a tree exists, whether or not anybody has

00:05:59climbed it or anything like that, or likes it or doesn't like it.

00:06:03And we know that because plants existed before people.

00:06:06I mean, we couldn't have life if plants weren't recycling the CO2 into O2 and providing food

00:06:12and sustenance for the herbivores, which then allow the evolution of meat eaters and all

00:06:16of that sort of stuff, right?

00:06:17So, we know that trees existed prior to human minds.

00:06:20So, what sense would it make to say, we can say trees exist, right?

00:06:25What sense does it make to say, though, to say trees are objective?

00:06:30We say trees exist.

00:06:32So, we have the word existence.

00:06:33I don't think we need to layer in objective, because objective refers to a state of mind

00:06:38wherein the facts correspond to reality as opposed to subjective.

00:06:42So, we have objective versus subjective, which are both states of mind.

00:06:46One is accurate, and the other is accurate if you're talking about something that you experience.

00:06:51If I say, I like cheesecake, I'm not lying, but my like does not exist outside of my mind,

00:06:57whereas the cheesecake does exist outside of my mind, if that makes sense.

00:07:02So, with matter, we have existence versus non-existence.

00:07:08If you open the door, walk through the doorway, right, you've created a passage through which

00:07:13you can pass.

00:07:14So, we have existence as opposed to non-existence, and we have objective as opposed to subjective.

00:07:25So, if you say to be objective is to exist independent of opinion and or thought, including

00:07:29the absence of human minds and or brains, I would not agree with that, because objective

00:07:34is a function of consciousness.

00:07:39It's a thought that corresponds to reality as opposed to subjective, which is a thought

00:07:43that corresponds to your own inner preferences.

00:07:47So, we have the word existence, and I don't think we want to, which is not required, human

00:07:54thought is not required for the existence of things.

00:07:57So, we have that, I don't think we want to take the operation of consciousness called

00:08:01being objective, and layer it over the permanent states of matter and energy.

00:08:07All right, so it says, gravity continues to exist independent of opinion and or thought,

00:08:11including the absence of human minds and or brains.

00:08:14Therefore, gravity is objective.

00:08:18No, I would say gravity, I mean, it's hard to say whether it exists, because it's an effect

00:08:23of matter, but gravity is a valid concept.

00:08:26Gravity is an inherent property of mass.

00:08:30All mass attracts other mass.

00:08:33So, I don't know if we can say gravity is objective.

00:08:36And this is sort of the tricky thing, because if I say, well, there's no such thing as gravity,

00:08:42then I'm wrong.

00:08:43So, gravity is objective, but objective refers to the human mind's evaluation of the validity

00:08:50of gravity, not the existence of gravity, so to speak.

00:08:54So, he says, morality grounded in God continues to exist independent of opinion and or thought,

00:08:59including the absence of human minds and or brains.

00:09:02Well, that's a bit of a leap, right?

00:09:04In fact, that's quite a leap.

00:09:05Morality grounded in God continues to exist independent of opinion and or thought.

00:09:09That is begging the question.

00:09:12We're trying to figure out what exists, and you can't say, well, God exists and God is

00:09:17moral.

00:09:17Therefore, God, by being moral, has morality continue in the absence of opinion and or

00:09:22thought.

00:09:23So, I don't see that.

00:09:25Makes sense.

00:09:25You say, therefore, morality grounded in God is objective.

00:09:28No, because you haven't proven the existence of God.

00:09:31UPB does not, my theory of ethics, universally preferable behavior, does not continue to exist

00:09:35independent of opinion and or thought, including the absence of human minds and or brains.

00:09:40Therefore, UPB is not objective.

00:09:43Hmm.

00:09:44Well, this is an epistemological question that's very interesting.

00:09:51So, does the equation, two and two make four, exist independent of human mind?

00:09:56No, it does not.

00:10:00Two and two make four is not an equation that exists independently of the human mind.

00:10:08However, two and two do, in fact, make four in reality, and therefore, even though two

00:10:16and two make four do not exist, does not exist independent of the human mind, it is not subjective.

00:10:22So, the principles that two and two make four are universal in terms of logic, right?

00:10:31The universe operates in a logical fashion, because if it didn't, we wouldn't exist, because

00:10:36matter and the behavior of matter and energy wouldn't be predictable enough for life to

00:10:41emerge or evolution to occur, or the planet wouldn't be stable enough.

00:10:44Things would, you know, happen randomly if there was no predictability to the behavior of matter

00:10:49and energy, right?

00:10:50Trees would turn into volcanoes, oceans would boil away into a mist, clouds would turn into

00:10:55iron and thud down on the landscape, like you'd live in a crazy LSD world where there'd

00:11:00be nothing permanent enough for life to consistently emerge.

00:11:06I mean, we build our houses on foundations of concrete and things.

00:11:11We don't build our houses on the surface of the ocean, because it's unstable, right?

00:11:15I mean, everything sinks.

00:11:17So, life needs that sort of stable base.

00:11:19Matter and energy need to have universal consistency and absolutism in order for life to exist.

00:11:26So, when we say two and two make four, we are identifying the absolute properties of matter

00:11:35and energy, as well as logically consistent numerology.

00:11:39For example, H2O, right?

00:11:43One hydrogen, sorry, two hydrogens, one oxygen, H2O.

00:11:47Two hydrogens and one oxygen make water.

00:11:50Always, no matter what, absolutely, everywhere, universally, permanently.

00:11:57Now, again, you could say, well, but it gets frozen, turns into vapor.

00:11:59I get all of that.

00:12:00The water has different forms.

00:12:02But H2O is water.

00:12:03It's Aristotle's first law of logic, A is A, right?

00:12:07So, a hydrogen atom is a hydrogen atom and something else.

00:12:10A carbon atom is a carbon atom and nothing else, right?

00:12:16See, O2, one carbon atom, two oxygen atoms makes carbon dioxide.

00:12:22Dioxide being two oxygens, right?

00:12:23Carbon dioxide everywhere, all the time, no matter what.

00:12:26If that wasn't the case, right?

00:12:29O2, right?

00:12:30So, if that wasn't the case, then plants couldn't breathe.

00:12:34Because plants need to be able to absorb CO2 and produce oxygen.

00:12:38And if plants can't breathe, then animal life that requires oxygen can't evolve.

00:12:45And so, that's pretty bad all around.

00:12:49So, UPP does not continue to exist independent of opinion and or thought.

00:12:54But what the human mind identifies when coming up with things like logic and math and science

00:13:01and equations and so on is the human mind is hooking into the pre-existing absolute universality

00:13:08and predictability of matter and energy.

00:13:11I mean, if you think the sun lasts for like 10 billion years, it's a big giant nuclear bomb

00:13:15going off for 10 billion years.

00:13:17That's only possible because matter and energy is relatively stable, right?

00:13:23So, the question of UPB, does it continue to exist independent of opinion and or thought?

00:13:29Well, although the identification of water as H2O or carbon dioxide as CO2,

00:13:37although the identification of that requires the human mind,

00:13:40the existence and structure of the atoms, the molecules, that is independent of the human mind.

00:13:49The human mind is picking something up that is already there.

00:13:54If you've ever tracked an animal in the wilderness because you're hunting,

00:13:58then you're following the footprints.

00:14:00You are not creating the footprints.

00:14:02You are following the footprints.

00:14:04So, when you say UPB does not continue to exist independent of opinion and or thought,

00:14:08well, the universe is logical independent of human beings calling it logical.

00:14:17Water is water independent of human beings identifying it as H2O.

00:14:21Carbon dioxide is carbon dioxide regardless of human beings identifying it as CO2.

00:14:27So, the principles of matter and energy automatically operate because of the nature of the universe

00:14:33regardless of human beings identifying those principles or not.

00:14:37I hope this says not.

00:14:38Over-explaining.

00:14:40So, UPB does not continue to exist, but self-contradictory entities do not exist.

00:14:46There's no such thing as a square circle.

00:14:47There's no such thing as a creature that is an elephant and a tree and a unicorn and a dragon simultaneously, right?

00:14:56Self-contradictory entities do not exist.

00:14:59Because self-contradictory entities would be to require that atoms were both themselves and something else at the same time.

00:15:08So, something cannot be, like a single thing, cannot be both water and carbon dioxide at the same time.

00:15:17I mean, you could bubble the two together and so on.

00:15:19But O2 cannot be CO2 at the same time.

00:15:23That's sort of a nature of reality thing, right?

00:15:25So, the laws of logic are derived from the stable properties and behavior of matter and energy.

00:15:33The stability and properties of matter and energy have existed for many billions of years

00:15:38before human beings came along and accurately identified them.

00:15:42So, does UPB continue to exist?

00:15:45Well, no.

00:15:46I mean, UPB is an invention of mine using the laws of logic

00:15:50and the knowledge that we have of history and economics and morality and so on.

00:15:56So, I have identified that rape, theft, assault and murder can never be universally preferable behaviors

00:16:02and that is an ironclad proof which cannot be overturned

00:16:05without overturning the laws of logic and the nature of reality and really just joining a madhouse.

00:16:11So, UPB, does it continue to exist independent of opinion?

00:16:14But that's like saying that do carbon atoms continue to exist independent of people calling them CO2?

00:16:24Well, of course, there's lots of people, countless people around the world who don't know that carbon atoms are CO2

00:16:29and for most of human history, certainly prior to people like Niels Bohr and other atomic theorists,

00:16:35I guess including Democritus, although he didn't have the details,

00:16:38there are plenty of human beings throughout the course of human history

00:16:41that did not identify carbon atoms as CO2 or didn't even know that carbon atoms existed.

00:16:49So, UPB does not continue to exist but the laws of logic operate whether or not they are formally identified by human beings.

00:16:58So, saying UPB is not objective is saying concepts that do not exist in the real world are not objective

00:17:06but as we talked earlier, the equation 2 and 2 make 4 does not exist in the objective universe

00:17:13but that does not mean that the equation that 2 and 2 make 4 is subjective.

00:17:19So, saying UPB is not objective is false.

00:17:23So, the moral argument for God, if God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist.

00:17:28Objective moral values do exist, therefore God exists.

00:17:30But this is, I mean, sorry to, you know, again, I really appreciate the argument, it's a good mental workout

00:17:34but if you say, if God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist.

00:17:40Objective moral values do exist, therefore God exists.

00:17:42But this is a circular argument, you're begging the question.

00:17:45Because you're saying that God makes moral values exist.

00:17:51Moral values exist, therefore God exists.

00:17:53But you're presupposing that God has created and made manifest in some platonic realm moral values.

00:18:01So, I'm afraid the argument does not work but again, it's a really, really great argument and I appreciate it.

00:18:06All right, hi Steph, I have a philosophical question.

00:18:10What is the fair way to split kids and assets in divorce and what may it look like in a free society?

00:18:17Well, I don't know, obviously that would be worked out by a free society.

00:18:22Remember, divorce is going to be exceedingly rare in a free society

00:18:25because people are raised rationally and peacefully

00:18:28and because kids are raised with negotiation, they know how to negotiate as adults

00:18:33which is, you know, obviously kind of important as a whole, right?

00:18:40So, people have to kind of learn, they kind of have to learn how to negotiate as adults

00:18:47you know, sort of slowly and painfully.

00:18:49Like, we raise all these kids to be bullied and controlled and all of that kind of stuff

00:18:55and what happens is they end up having to learn how to negotiate as adults

00:19:04after being traumatized with a lack of negotiation when they're younger, right?

00:19:08It's terrible as a whole.

00:19:09It's like you raise kids with almost no exposure to Japanese

00:19:13except you punish them whenever they even think about or try to learn Japanese

00:19:17or try to speak Japanese and then you expect them to learn Japanese as an adult

00:19:21with all that trauma and all that lack of knowledge.

00:19:25So, you raise kids negotiating and they learn how to negotiate

00:19:30and, of course, they see in healthy, happy households

00:19:34children see their parents negotiating as well, right?

00:19:37So, kids see their parents negotiating, the parents negotiate with their children

00:19:44and, of course, the teachers negotiate with the students

00:19:51or however education would occur.

00:19:53So, people know how to negotiate, they share rational values

00:19:56and so the chances of divorce are very low.

00:19:59Now, I'm not going to wave a magic wand and say,

00:20:01well, that makes it impossible because it's a valid question

00:20:04and I'm certain that there would be.

00:20:06I'm certain that there would be divorce in a free society

00:20:10but I just wanted to point out that it is extremely rare in a free society.

00:20:17Now, what is a fair way to split kids and assets in a divorce?

00:20:20I mean, I think in a common law standpoint,

00:20:22the way things work fairly rationally is

00:20:26the assets that were gathered by each party prior to divorce are not split

00:20:33and assets that have accumulated since the marriage are split.

00:20:38If the woman has decided to stay home with her choice and her husband's choice

00:20:42on the expectation that her husband pays for her to raise the children,

00:20:47then she deserves some form of income having foregone her career advancement and education.

00:20:55So, she gave all of that up to raise kids

00:20:58and so she deserves some sort of compensation for that.

00:21:03As far as splitting the kids go,

00:21:06well, if the father is paying alimony or child support or both to the mother,

00:21:13then it doesn't make quite as much sense for the father to get as much custody with them

00:21:21because she can stay home and raise them, especially if they're young.

00:21:23Well, she can stay home and raise them and he can't, right?

00:21:28Because he's got to work to pay the bills.

00:21:31So, that's a challenge.

00:21:33So, I could see her getting more custody and so on.

00:21:37In many ways, though, in many ways, I can see the argument,

00:21:42and I'm not advocating for this, I'm just saying that I can see the argument,

00:21:45where somebody might say that the best thing to do with a divorce

00:21:52is to give the custody of the children to others

00:21:56because that way the kids don't become pawns,

00:21:59they're not turned against each other,

00:22:00there's not the complications of visitation rights

00:22:05and wrangling about all that kind of stuff.

00:22:08And it also, if you have other people adopt the kids,

00:22:11maybe it could be grandparents or something like that,

00:22:13but if you have other people adopt the kids,

00:22:15then what happens is you eliminate the very real possibility

00:22:19that people get divorced in order to make money

00:22:22and punish each other and so on, right?

00:22:24In other words, a woman might divorce a guy

00:22:26so that she can keep the kids, have an income,

00:22:29not have the bother of a husband, and so on.

00:22:32So, I don't know.

00:22:33Again, I have no idea how any of this stuff would work in reality,

00:22:37but I think assets accumulated during the marriage get split

00:22:41and the woman needs a, if she stayed home to raise the kids,

00:22:46then the woman needs a sort of minimum income

00:22:48in order to be able to do that,

00:22:50but maybe the split of assets during the course of the marriage

00:22:54would be enough for that.

00:22:55I don't, again, I'm not entirely sure,

00:22:58but you would want to have it so that

00:23:00the kids were taken care of,

00:23:03but also you would want to discourage the divorce

00:23:08based upon financial concerns or preferences or interests.

00:23:11So, you would want to make it

00:23:12as much as the kids could be paid for, that would be great,

00:23:15but you wouldn't want to make paying for the kids

00:23:17such a great incentive that the woman, in this case,

00:23:20would have a larger incentive to divorce, if that makes sense.

00:23:24And I could certainly see that if the man is paying for his kids

00:23:31and a sort of bare minimum lifestyle for the mother,

00:23:34that there should be validation, of course,

00:23:37that the money is actually going to the kids

00:23:40and not to other, you know, getting nails and hair

00:23:42and all this sort of nonsense.

00:23:44So, it's hard to know, but again,

00:23:46philosophy is about prevention, not cure.

00:23:48Those are sort of some basic thoughts that I have.

00:23:51And it's just, because it's such an ungodly mess

00:23:54when parents get divorced,

00:23:56it is really tough to know how to handle it in a way

00:24:00and the best way to do it is to prevent things as well.

00:24:03And of course, the other thing too is that

00:24:05if the divorce is considered unjust,

00:24:07like you would have to have some proof of wrongdoing

00:24:10in order to be divorced.

00:24:12Because it is, if there are kids involved,

00:24:14who cares really if they're not,

00:24:16but if there are kids involved,

00:24:17you would have to have some kind of proof

00:24:19of big problems or wrongdoing.

00:24:21It can't just be, well, I'm just kind of dissatisfied or whatever.

00:24:24I don't think that would be valid.

00:24:25And if you left a marriage,

00:24:26just based on being dissatisfied,

00:24:29then I don't think that either party

00:24:32would be responsible for compensating the other.

00:24:34You know, if the husband cheats,

00:24:36you know, that's sort of a different matter.

00:24:38But I would not, I would not assume

00:24:41that in the absence of cheating or abuse

00:24:46or some sort of substance abuse or something like that,

00:24:49in the absence of any of that,

00:24:50I don't think that people should get paid to divorce

00:24:53if there's nothing serious going on.

00:24:55That's frivolous and bad for the kids.

00:24:56All right.

00:24:57Should children expect an inheritance from their parents?

00:24:59My take is absolutely.

00:25:01While teaching them to use their wealth responsibly,

00:25:02frugally and generosity towards those in need,

00:25:05children growing up unable to use wealth wisely

00:25:07is a reflection of poor parenting.

00:25:10Yeah.

00:25:11I mean, should children expect an inheritance from their parents?

00:25:13I'm not sure what that means.

00:25:14Are you saying,

00:25:17is it valid for children to receive an inheritance from their parents?

00:25:20Well, sure.

00:25:21Of course.

00:25:22Because you own your property

00:25:23and you can dispose of it as you see fit.

00:25:26So if you want to give all your money away to charity,

00:25:28instead of giving it to your kids,

00:25:30you can do that.

00:25:30I mean, it may be unwise,

00:25:32but it is, after all, your property.

00:25:34If you want to give all your property to your kids,

00:25:38you can do that too.

00:25:40Again, it's your property.

00:25:40You can dispose of it as you see fit.

00:25:44All right.

00:25:44I watched an interesting video on Owlman.

00:25:48Apparently, this is a DC Batman variant

00:25:50that believes nothing matters due to multiverse theory.

00:25:52He believes that no action he made mattered

00:25:54as there was another version of him in another Sony

00:25:57that did the exact opposite.

00:26:00Interesting video on nihilism

00:26:01and if your actions actually matter.

00:26:03Would like it if you explored this weird rabbit hole

00:26:04of philosophical theory.

00:26:06It's not weird.

00:26:11It's a seduction to cowardice and inaction.

00:26:15Right?

00:26:15It's a way of saying to people,

00:26:18nothing really matters.

00:26:19Anyone can see.

00:26:20Right?

00:26:21It's just a way of saying to people,

00:26:23nothing really matters.

00:26:24It's a way of seducing them into laziness

00:26:26and letting the bad guys run the world.

00:26:28So, people just want a lot of excuses

00:26:31for not doing the right thing.

00:26:32And look, I'm not blaming people.

00:26:34I'm subject to the same things,

00:26:37but maybe I'm just a little bit more honest with myself

00:26:39than some people.

00:26:41So, yeah, doing the right thing

00:26:42and interfering with the designs of evil people,

00:26:46well, arouses their ire.

00:26:48And they don't like you

00:26:49and they will work to harm you

00:26:51if you interfere with their evil objectives.

00:26:54Right?

00:26:54I mean, this is...

00:26:55If you're going to testify against the mob,

00:26:58you know, get ready to sleep with the fishes, right?

00:27:00So, there are a lot of people

00:27:02who are frightened to do the right thing.

00:27:05And I sympathize with that

00:27:06and I share that feeling.

00:27:08It can be a bit nerve-wracking

00:27:09to do the right thing from time to time.

00:27:12And I'm not here to tell people,

00:27:16you must do the right thing.

00:27:17It has to be voluntarily chosen

00:27:18based upon rational values and so on.

00:27:21However, like that having been said,

00:27:24I encourage you to do the right thing.

00:27:26And if you don't do the right thing,

00:27:29that's fine.

00:27:30Don't lie to yourself about it.

00:27:32So, if you don't want to take on evildoers

00:27:34and you don't want to join the fight

00:27:35to make the world and humanity

00:27:37and the moral landscape a better place,

00:27:39if you don't want to do that,

00:27:40that's not great, but it's fine.

00:27:44I just don't want you lying to yourself

00:27:47and pretending that you're doing something you're not.

00:27:49Because then you can't ever rejoin the fray, right?

00:27:54So, if you have a bad dentist, right,

00:27:56who just tells you everything you want to hear,

00:27:58oh, your teeth are great,

00:27:59oh, your gums are fine,

00:28:00blah, blah, blah, you've got no plaque,

00:28:02when, in fact, your gums are receding

00:28:05and you have a lot of plaque

00:28:07and tooth decay and cavities, right?

00:28:10So, if you have a dentist

00:28:13who tells you what you want to hear,

00:28:15he's endangering your life

00:28:17because you swallow the bacteria,

00:28:18it can infect your heart,

00:28:19and you can die.

00:28:20Your heart can explode, right?

00:28:23So, I'm just here to tell you

00:28:25that if you don't want to do the right thing,

00:28:27if you don't want to be honest,

00:28:28if you don't want to stand up against evildoers,

00:28:30if you don't want to ostracize

00:28:31consistent evildoers in your environment,

00:28:33if you don't want to promote

00:28:34peace and reason and peaceful parenting,

00:28:36if you don't want to do any of that,

00:28:38that's fine,

00:28:39but I'm not going to support you

00:28:41lying to yourself

00:28:42and pretending that you're a good person

00:28:45when you're not, right?

00:28:46The dentist can't force you

00:28:47to take good care of your teeth,

00:28:49but if he's a good dentist,

00:28:51he's not going to lie to you

00:28:51about the effects.

00:28:53So, if people say,

00:28:54well, it doesn't really matter what I do

00:28:56because there's a multiverse,

00:28:57this, that, and the other,

00:28:58then they're trying to make wisdom

00:28:59out of moral cowardice and laziness, right?

00:29:03You know, in another universe, man,

00:29:06I'm doing the right thing,

00:29:07so it doesn't matter if I don't do the right thing

00:29:08in this universe.

00:29:09I mean, that's just cowardly crap.

00:29:11That's all.

00:29:12And if you're going to be frightened

00:29:14out of doing the right thing,

00:29:15that's fine.

00:29:17But I'm not going to support your delusion

00:29:19that you're doing the right thing.

00:29:21And please understand,

00:29:22I'm not talking to you directly.

00:29:23I know you're just bringing this up

00:29:24as a thought exercise.

00:29:26So, that's all.

00:29:28I am not going to support people's delusions.

00:29:31If you punk out

00:29:33of the essential moral battles of the world,

00:29:36that's fine.

00:29:37You're a moral coward.

00:29:39Now, the reason I'm telling you that

00:29:41is not because I think that's etched

00:29:43into your nature

00:29:44or part of the physics of the universe.

00:29:46I tell you that

00:29:47so that at some point,

00:29:50if you get tired of being a moral coward,

00:29:52you can stop being a moral coward

00:29:54and you can join us in the essential fight

00:29:56for virtue and against evil.

00:29:58You know, be the superhero

00:29:59instead of just watching

00:30:00guys in spandex

00:30:02rocket all over Gotham, right?

00:30:04So, if, on the other hand,

00:30:07I were to support the delusion

00:30:09that it doesn't matter what you do

00:30:10because of the multiverse theory,

00:30:12you're doing something different

00:30:13in every universe,

00:30:14if I support that theory,

00:30:16then you can't ever come back from it.

00:30:19Right?

00:30:19You can't because now it's become wisdom

00:30:22and it gets etched into your soul

00:30:23and you're not a moral coward

00:30:25and you drug yourself.

00:30:25Now, deep down, you know the truth,

00:30:27but eventually,

00:30:28if you push the truth

00:30:29down far enough

00:30:30in your mind,

00:30:32like,

00:30:33it dies and drowns

00:30:34and turns into oil

00:30:35or something like that,

00:30:37right?

00:30:37So, I don't support

00:30:40fostering or enabling

00:30:42people's delusions,

00:30:44like the people who have delusions,

00:30:45like,

00:30:46oh,

00:30:46a force can achieve virtue

00:30:47and,

00:30:48oh,

00:30:48there's no free will

00:30:49because determinism

00:30:50or multiverse theory

00:30:51or something like that.

00:30:52It's like,

00:30:53no, no,

00:30:53you're just a moral coward

00:30:54and that's fine.

00:30:55Look,

00:30:55we all punk out

00:30:56from time to time.

00:30:57I'm not lording it over anyone.

00:30:58But I'm honest with myself.

00:31:00If there's topics

00:31:01I don't want to touch,

00:31:02I don't touch them.

00:31:03I don't lie to myself.

00:31:05Well,

00:31:05I'm above that.

00:31:06It's not important.

00:31:07It's just,

00:31:07no,

00:31:07it's topics

00:31:08I don't want to touch

00:31:09and I think I'm honest

00:31:11about that,

00:31:12at least to myself.

00:31:14So,

00:31:15and that way,

00:31:16if I choose at some point,

00:31:17blah, blah, blah.

00:31:18Okay.

00:31:19All right.

00:31:20Somebody says,

00:31:22not sure

00:31:23if it's a philosophical question,

00:31:26but wondering your thoughts

00:31:28on the term

00:31:30intrinsic value.

00:31:31it's a term

00:31:33that gets used a lot,

00:31:35but to me,

00:31:35it's always seemed

00:31:37like

00:31:37an oxymoron.

00:31:40Well,

00:31:40that is a

00:31:41fine,

00:31:42fine question.

00:31:45So,

00:31:45intrinsic value

00:31:46is generally

00:31:47finance term.

00:31:49It's a term

00:31:50of

00:31:50finance.

00:31:52It's,

00:31:53it refers to

00:31:54the perceived value

00:31:55of an asset

00:31:55based on

00:31:57its own inherent

00:31:58characteristics

00:31:59rather than

00:31:59just sort of

00:32:00market

00:32:00demand,

00:32:02right?

00:32:02So,

00:32:03Brad Pitt

00:32:03has intrinsic value

00:32:05that cannot be

00:32:06separated

00:32:06from Brad Pitt,

00:32:08right?

00:32:08Because if Brad Pitt

00:32:09says he's going to be

00:32:10in a movie,

00:32:10he's going to get

00:32:10a bunch of financing.

00:32:12If he pulls out

00:32:12and there's now

00:32:14Brad Pitt

00:32:14with three Ts

00:32:15who's just

00:32:15some unknown,

00:32:16then the funding

00:32:16will likely be

00:32:17pulled

00:32:17and all of that,

00:32:18right?

00:32:18So,

00:32:21intrinsic value

00:32:22is something

00:32:23that is

00:32:24not based upon

00:32:26mere demand,

00:32:27but it's based upon

00:32:28the person

00:32:29or the thing

00:32:29itself.

00:32:30So,

00:32:31if you have

00:32:31a web design

00:32:33shop with a

00:32:33couple of

00:32:34computers,

00:32:34but some really

00:32:35great web designers,

00:32:36if all those

00:32:37web designers

00:32:38leave,

00:32:38how much

00:32:39value

00:32:40is the

00:32:41computers that

00:32:42remain and so on?

00:32:43Well,

00:32:43not much.

00:32:44On the other

00:32:44hand,

00:32:45if you have

00:32:45a big giant

00:32:46manufacturing plant

00:32:46like the

00:32:47$10 billion

00:32:47fabrication plant

00:32:49that makes

00:32:50computer chips

00:32:51or something

00:32:51like that,

00:32:52if the workers

00:32:53leave,

00:32:54then the

00:32:55machinery,

00:32:56the zero,

00:32:57like the

00:32:58super clean

00:32:58environments,

00:32:59the soundproofing

00:33:00and all of that,

00:33:00and all of the

00:33:01capital machinery,

00:33:02that still has

00:33:03value,

00:33:04right?

00:33:05There was an old

00:33:05saying,

00:33:05it's an old

00:33:06saying in the

00:33:06software industry,

00:33:07like 90% of the

00:33:07value of our

00:33:08company goes down

00:33:09the elevators

00:33:09every night

00:33:10after work.

00:33:12So,

00:33:12if it comes

00:33:13to things like

00:33:14business,

00:33:15then you can

00:33:16consult Investopedia

00:33:17or other

00:33:18places to learn

00:33:19more about

00:33:19intrinsic value,

00:33:21but I think

00:33:23what you're

00:33:23talking about

00:33:24from a

00:33:24philosophical

00:33:24standpoint,

00:33:25and I'm

00:33:25sorry if I

00:33:25got this

00:33:26wrong,

00:33:26but I think

00:33:27what you're

00:33:27talking about

00:33:27from a

00:33:27philosophical

00:33:28standpoint

00:33:28is,

00:33:29is value

00:33:30embedded in

00:33:30the thing

00:33:31itself,

00:33:31or is it

00:33:32always a

00:33:32function of

00:33:33the human

00:33:33mind?

00:33:34And the

00:33:35answer,

00:33:36of course,

00:33:36to those who

00:33:37know the

00:33:38way that I

00:33:38do philosophy,

00:33:39which of

00:33:39course I

00:33:39think is the

00:33:40right way to

00:33:40do philosophy,

00:33:41I wouldn't

00:33:41do it the

00:33:41wrong way,

00:33:42there is no

00:33:43such thing as

00:33:43a value that

00:33:44is embedded in

00:33:45the thing

00:33:45itself,

00:33:46so what is

00:33:46the value

00:33:47of a bottle

00:33:48of water?

00:33:49Well,

00:33:50if you're

00:33:50tripping balls

00:33:50and MDMA

00:33:51and thirsty

00:33:51as someone

00:33:53lost in the

00:33:54desert,

00:33:54well then,

00:33:55the value

00:33:56of a bottle

00:33:56of water

00:33:56is very high.

00:33:58If you've

00:33:59just drunk

00:33:59three bottles

00:34:00of water,

00:34:01then the

00:34:02value of

00:34:02the fourth

00:34:02bottle of

00:34:03water is

00:34:04not very

00:34:04high.

00:34:05There's no

00:34:06value in

00:34:07the things

00:34:07themselves.

00:34:09And people

00:34:09say,

00:34:09ah,

00:34:09yes,

00:34:10but everyone

00:34:11who's dying

00:34:11in a desert

00:34:12has a high

00:34:13value for

00:34:14a bottle

00:34:16of water.

00:34:16I mean,

00:34:17no,

00:34:17they don't

00:34:17have a high

00:34:18value for

00:34:19the bottle

00:34:19of water

00:34:19if they're

00:34:19dying of

00:34:20thirst in

00:34:20the desert.

00:34:21They have

00:34:21a high

00:34:22value of

00:34:23wanting to

00:34:24continue to

00:34:24live.

00:34:25The bottle

00:34:25of water

00:34:25is just

00:34:26a mechanism

00:34:27to achieve

00:34:28that.

00:34:29So there's

00:34:29no value

00:34:30inherent in

00:34:30things.

00:34:31Value,

00:34:31I'm not

00:34:32talking values

00:34:32like moral

00:34:33values and

00:34:33so on,

00:34:34right?

00:34:34But value,

00:34:35how much

00:34:35value you

00:34:36place on

00:34:36something

00:34:36is subjective.

00:34:40It is

00:34:40subjective.

00:34:41I say,

00:34:41ah,

00:34:41yes,

00:34:41but there's

00:34:42price.

00:34:42Price is

00:34:43the objective

00:34:44measure of

00:34:45what you're

00:34:45willing to

00:34:45exchange to

00:34:46get something

00:34:46that you

00:34:47value.

00:34:48But,

00:34:49you know,

00:34:49I like a

00:34:50good steak.

00:34:51My wife

00:34:51doesn't eat

00:34:53meat and

00:34:54so I would

00:34:55pay decent

00:34:56money for

00:34:56a good steak.

00:34:57My wife

00:34:58would not

00:34:58pay any

00:34:59money for

00:34:59a good

00:34:59steak.

00:34:59So where

00:35:00is the

00:35:00value

00:35:01inherent in

00:35:02the steak?

00:35:02It's not.

00:35:03It's all

00:35:03in personal

00:35:03preferences.

00:35:04And it's

00:35:05actually a

00:35:05really deep

00:35:05thing to

00:35:06sort of

00:35:07contemplate.

00:35:08Because

00:35:08value is

00:35:10subjective,

00:35:11central

00:35:12planning,

00:35:12government

00:35:12central

00:35:13planning is

00:35:14impossible.

00:35:14Because the

00:35:15only way we

00:35:16know what

00:35:17people value is

00:35:18when they're

00:35:18willing to

00:35:18exchange their

00:35:20own resources

00:35:22for what they

00:35:22value.

00:35:23So people can

00:35:25say,

00:35:25I want to

00:35:26help the

00:35:27poor.

00:35:27Okay,

00:35:27and I think

00:35:28most people

00:35:28do.

00:35:29I certainly

00:35:29do.

00:35:29That's why I

00:35:30give out my

00:35:30philosophy lectures

00:35:31for free.

00:35:32So people say,

00:35:32well, I want to

00:35:33help the poor.

00:35:33I think that's

00:35:34great.

00:35:34Good,

00:35:34help the

00:35:35poor.

00:35:36But if

00:35:36helping the

00:35:36poor means

00:35:37having the

00:35:37government print

00:35:38or borrow

00:35:38money in order

00:35:39to just throw

00:35:39money at the

00:35:40poor,

00:35:41then nobody

00:35:42knows how

00:35:42much you

00:35:42actually care

00:35:43about helping

00:35:44the poor

00:35:44because all

00:35:45you're doing

00:35:45is demanding

00:35:47that future

00:35:48generations pay

00:35:49for what you

00:35:50like and want

00:35:50in the moment,

00:35:51right?

00:35:51And so you

00:35:52have to put

00:35:53that test.

00:35:53The same

00:35:54thought with

00:35:54mass migration,

00:35:55right?

00:35:55You want to

00:35:56help refugees,

00:35:57right?

00:35:57This is the

00:35:57JK Rowling

00:35:58thing,

00:35:58right?

00:35:59She's very

00:35:59pro-refugee

00:36:00and it's like,

00:36:00okay,

00:36:01well,

00:36:01take them

00:36:01into your

00:36:01house and

00:36:02fund them

00:36:02yourself and

00:36:03then be

00:36:03personally

00:36:04liable for

00:36:05any crimes

00:36:05that they

00:36:05commit.

00:36:06So if the

00:36:07refugee that

00:36:08you are

00:36:09supporting or

00:36:10something,

00:36:11if the refugee

00:36:11that you want,

00:36:12you know,

00:36:13goes and

00:36:13rapes someone,

00:36:14then you and

00:36:15the refugee go

00:36:15to jail because

00:36:16you invited that

00:36:17person in.

00:36:17So you have to

00:36:18fund them,

00:36:18you have to

00:36:18put them up,

00:36:19and you have

00:36:20to be liable.

00:36:21Now,

00:36:21if that's the

00:36:21case,

00:36:22right?

00:36:23If that's the

00:36:23case,

00:36:24how many people,

00:36:25like,

00:36:26then you have a

00:36:26value that is

00:36:27not just paid

00:36:28for by others,

00:36:29you have skin in

00:36:30the game,

00:36:30and now we can

00:36:31find out how

00:36:32many people

00:36:32really value

00:36:34this,

00:36:35right?

00:36:35So you have

00:36:36to pay for

00:36:36this person

00:36:37until that

00:36:38person becomes

00:36:39self-sufficient,

00:36:40to put them up

00:36:41in your house,

00:36:42and if they

00:36:43commit a crime,

00:36:44you go to

00:36:44jail too,

00:36:45because you

00:36:45introduced that

00:36:47person into the

00:36:47community by

00:36:48sponsoring them,

00:36:49and this is the

00:36:50way that immigration

00:36:50would work in any

00:36:51sort of sane or

00:36:52rational society,

00:36:52but,

00:36:53so,

00:36:54all right,

00:36:55a lot of

00:36:56blame,

00:36:57right?

00:36:57Someone else

00:36:58is being placed

00:36:58on men,

00:36:59as usual,

00:36:59for the current

00:36:59events in

00:37:00England,

00:37:01with a child

00:37:01having to

00:37:01defend herself

00:37:02and another

00:37:03child against

00:37:03the threat.

00:37:04My question

00:37:04to you

00:37:05and them

00:37:06is what

00:37:06could men

00:37:07have done

00:37:07to prevent

00:37:07this from

00:37:08happening?

00:37:09Women demanded

00:37:09the vote,

00:37:10women received

00:37:10it because

00:37:11men permitted

00:37:11it.

00:37:12How could

00:37:12this have

00:37:12been prevented?

00:37:14Well,

00:37:14I'm a

00:37:14voluntarist,

00:37:16technically

00:37:17known as

00:37:17an anarcho-capitalist,

00:37:19and I have

00:37:19been consistent

00:37:20in this

00:37:20for over

00:37:2120 years,

00:37:23because the

00:37:23just and

00:37:24right society

00:37:24is not up

00:37:25to me,

00:37:25but up to

00:37:26reason and

00:37:26evidence.

00:37:28So,

00:37:29as I've

00:37:29sort of talked

00:37:30about before,

00:37:31to gain entry

00:37:31into a society,

00:37:33you need

00:37:34the approval

00:37:36of the people

00:37:37in the society,

00:37:37which means

00:37:38they have to

00:37:39want to hire

00:37:39you and

00:37:40put you up

00:37:41and work

00:37:42with you and

00:37:42whatever,

00:37:43have your kids

00:37:44in their schools.

00:37:44This would all

00:37:45be voluntary

00:37:45in a free

00:37:46society,

00:37:46and if you're

00:37:47a valuable

00:37:48addition to

00:37:48that society,

00:37:49people would

00:37:49be very happy

00:37:50to have you

00:37:50come in

00:37:50and overjoyed

00:37:51to have you

00:37:52as neighbours,

00:37:52people want

00:37:53to rent

00:37:53to you and

00:37:53have your

00:37:54kids in

00:37:54their schools

00:37:54and so on,

00:37:55and if for

00:37:56whatever reason

00:37:56that doesn't

00:37:57look like it's

00:37:58going to be the

00:37:58case,

00:37:59then people

00:37:59should never

00:38:00be forced

00:38:00to have you

00:38:01come into

00:38:01their society,

00:38:02right?

00:38:03So,

00:38:04I mean,

00:38:04I think that

00:38:05the welfare state

00:38:06was put in place

00:38:07to make sure

00:38:07that there was

00:38:08an underclass

00:38:08of people

00:38:09who were

00:38:10dependent upon it

00:38:11so that when

00:38:12the welfare state

00:38:12becomes more

00:38:13of an attraction

00:38:13for foreigners,

00:38:15it can't be

00:38:15reformed.

00:38:16So,

00:38:16anyway,

00:38:18what do we

00:38:18got here?

00:38:19What is your

00:38:20solution to

00:38:21set theory

00:38:21or type theory,

00:38:22such as how

00:38:23would you solve,

00:38:24if you believe

00:38:24it can be solved,

00:38:26the Barber paradox

00:38:27or this sentence

00:38:28is false,

00:38:29paradox.

00:38:30So,

00:38:31the Barber paradox

00:38:32is a logical

00:38:34puzzle and it

00:38:35says,

00:38:35a barber

00:38:36shaves all

00:38:37those who

00:38:38do not

00:38:38shave themselves,

00:38:41right?

00:38:41A barber

00:38:41shaves all

00:38:42those who

00:38:42do not

00:38:42shave

00:38:43themselves,

00:38:44ah,

00:38:45does the

00:38:46barber shave

00:38:47himself?

00:38:48The barber

00:38:49who shaves

00:38:49all those

00:38:50who do not

00:38:50shave

00:38:51themselves or,

00:38:52you know,

00:38:52this sentence

00:38:53is false.

00:38:54I'm not sure

00:38:55what a solution

00:38:56would be to

00:38:57these issues.

00:38:58If you say

00:38:59this sentence

00:39:00is false,

00:39:02well,

00:39:03this means

00:39:04the sentence

00:39:04is true,

00:39:04but the sentence

00:39:05is claiming

00:39:05that it's

00:39:06false.

00:39:07So,

00:39:08I mean,

00:39:08these are just

00:39:09kind of silly

00:39:10intellectual play

00:39:12things.

00:39:12We know that

00:39:13rape,

00:39:13theft,

00:39:13assault,

00:39:14and murder

00:39:14is wrong,

00:39:15and we know

00:39:15that children

00:39:16are abused.

00:39:16We should go

00:39:17out and deal

00:39:17with that

00:39:17rather than

00:39:18muck about

00:39:19with this

00:39:19kind of

00:39:19nonsense.

00:39:20All right,

00:39:20I think that

00:39:21was it.

00:39:23What's the

00:39:23categorical identifier

00:39:24for self-ownership

00:39:25in a being?

00:39:27If an AGI

00:39:27was developed

00:39:28and put into

00:39:29one of my

00:39:29android bodies,

00:39:30would it be

00:39:31just to deprive it

00:39:32of their limbs,

00:39:33hearing,

00:39:33and sight,

00:39:34since it was my

00:39:35property to start

00:39:36off with?

00:39:37What is a

00:39:37categorical identifier

00:39:38for self-ownership

00:39:39in a being?

00:39:41Oh,

00:39:41my God,

00:39:42I mean,

00:39:43brothers and

00:39:43sisters in

00:39:45reason.

00:39:46Like,

00:39:46you know that

00:39:47we're in a

00:39:47time of plague,

00:39:48right?

00:39:49Evil is winning

00:39:50and expanding,

00:39:52and good is being

00:39:53given unprecedented

00:39:53tools of

00:39:54reason,

00:39:56productivity,

00:39:57and communication,

00:39:58and you're

00:39:59like,

00:39:59well,

00:39:59but if I,

00:40:00my brain

00:40:00was,

00:40:01if AGI

00:40:03was developed

00:40:04and put into

00:40:05one of my

00:40:06android bodies,

00:40:07blah,

00:40:07would it be

00:40:08just to deprive it

00:40:09of their limbs,

00:40:09hearing,

00:40:10and sight,

00:40:11blah,

00:40:12blah,

00:40:12can you speak

00:40:14out against evil,

00:40:15or are you

00:40:16thinking of

00:40:16fantasy robots

00:40:17with,

00:40:19what's the AGI

00:40:20anthropomorphic,

00:40:20or general

00:40:22intelligence,

00:40:22right?

00:40:23Ah,

00:40:24we have a lot,

00:40:26we have a lot

00:40:26to do.

00:40:27I mean,

00:40:28honestly,

00:40:28I can't,

00:40:30I can't emphasize

00:40:31this strongly enough.

00:40:32We are in

00:40:33a plague,

00:40:35and you all

00:40:36are out there

00:40:37arguing where

00:40:38exactly the placement

00:40:39of a kidney

00:40:39in a Klingon

00:40:40would be.

00:40:41And I just,

00:40:43I really want

00:40:44to remind people

00:40:44of the urgency

00:40:45of the moral

00:40:46mission that

00:40:47we're on,

00:40:48which is,

00:40:49if we lose

00:40:49freedom now,

00:40:50given AI,

00:40:51given surveillance,

00:40:53given computing

00:40:54power,

00:40:55you know,

00:40:56we're probably

00:40:56never getting

00:40:57it back.

00:40:58I'm not kidding

00:40:58about that.

00:41:00And honestly,

00:41:00this bullshit,

00:41:02well,

00:41:02an android

00:41:02and sight,

00:41:03and like,

00:41:05we're in a time

00:41:06of plague.

00:41:07Can you please

00:41:08do something

00:41:09to help the

00:41:10world in

00:41:11its time

00:41:11of need

00:41:12and not

00:41:12muck about?

00:41:13I mean,

00:41:14again,

00:41:14interesting questions,

00:41:15there's nothing

00:41:16wrong with it,

00:41:16but I don't,

00:41:18I don't care.

00:41:19I mean,

00:41:20in a time

00:41:21of peace,

00:41:21I would care,

00:41:23right?

00:41:23But if I'm

00:41:24feverishly trying

00:41:25to save

00:41:26blown to

00:41:28bits

00:41:29bodies in a

00:41:30war,

00:41:30and you're

00:41:31kind of

00:41:31getting in my

00:41:32face and

00:41:33asking me

00:41:34about what

00:41:35I thought

00:41:35the physiology

00:41:37of a unicorn

00:41:37was,

00:41:38I might

00:41:39just ask

00:41:39you to

00:41:40get out

00:41:40of my

00:41:40way

00:41:40and start

00:41:42helping.

00:41:43In fact,

00:41:43I probably

00:41:44would.

00:41:45All right.

00:41:46I don't want

00:41:46to spank my

00:41:47kids,

00:41:47but I also

00:41:47want to

00:41:48save their

00:41:48face.

00:41:49My youngest,

00:41:50fourth,

00:41:50is very

00:41:50aggressive to

00:41:51our golden

00:41:51retriever.

00:41:52It is polite

00:41:53that he rolls

00:41:53over the dog.

00:41:55It is polite

00:41:56that he rolls

00:41:56over the dog,

00:41:57but the dog

00:41:57doesn't like it.

00:41:58If my kid

00:41:59found most dogs,

00:41:59they would attack

00:42:00him.

00:42:01I don't know

00:42:01how to express

00:42:01any way to

00:42:02dial it back.

00:42:03I don't

00:42:04know why

00:42:05your child

00:42:06would be

00:42:06aggressive to

00:42:07a pet,

00:42:07unless your

00:42:08child had

00:42:08experienced

00:42:09some kind

00:42:09of aggression

00:42:09himself,

00:42:10but if

00:42:12your child

00:42:13is mistreating

00:42:14a pet,

00:42:15obviously you

00:42:15want to,

00:42:16I'm sure you

00:42:16know this

00:42:17reason with

00:42:18your child,

00:42:18and try and

00:42:19understand all

00:42:20kinds of

00:42:20wonderful things

00:42:21about what's

00:42:21going on

00:42:22with your

00:42:23child,

00:42:23but if your

00:42:24child is

00:42:25putting himself

00:42:26in danger by

00:42:27antagonizing a

00:42:27dog,

00:42:28you have to

00:42:28get rid of

00:42:29the dog,

00:42:29unless there's

00:42:30some other

00:42:31explanation that

00:42:32I can't

00:42:33figure out.

00:42:34All right,

00:42:35I have a

00:42:35question about

00:42:36love.

00:42:37If we can

00:42:38fall in love

00:42:38with many

00:42:39different partners,

00:42:40as we can

00:42:40see from

00:42:41people finding

00:42:42love in their

00:42:43social circles,

00:42:43how do certain

00:42:44people stop

00:42:44searching for

00:42:45love in those

00:42:46social circles

00:42:46once they have

00:42:47found it with

00:42:47someone?

00:42:48Is it

00:42:49discipline,

00:42:49or is there

00:42:50a phenomenon

00:42:50called true

00:42:51love,

00:42:51which we can

00:42:52harness if we

00:42:53want to be

00:42:53successful at

00:42:54relationships?

00:42:55Are you saying

00:42:56like, why don't

00:42:57you just keep

00:42:57dating people when

00:42:58you have a

00:42:58girlfriend?

00:42:59Is that,

00:43:00I'm sorry,

00:43:01is that,

00:43:01I want to make

00:43:02sure I

00:43:02understand.

00:43:03Your question

00:43:04seems a little

00:43:04unclear to me.

00:43:05So, you stop

00:43:06dating when you

00:43:06have a girlfriend

00:43:07because you're

00:43:08not an asshole,

00:43:09right?

00:43:09And you have,

00:43:10assuming that you

00:43:11have with your

00:43:12girlfriend a

00:43:13monogamous

00:43:13agreement, or

00:43:14an agreement to

00:43:15be monogamous in

00:43:15the relationship.

00:43:16So, you stop

00:43:17dating people

00:43:19because you have

00:43:20an agreement to

00:43:21be monogamous.

00:43:22It's sort of like

00:43:23asking, well,

00:43:24why don't you just

00:43:25not pay your

00:43:26cell phone bill?

00:43:27Well, because you

00:43:28have an agreement to

00:43:29pay your cell phone

00:43:29bill, right?

00:43:30So, that's the

00:43:34deal, right?

00:43:34That's the deal.

00:43:35If you get involved

00:43:37in a boxing match,

00:43:37you're not allowed to

00:43:38bite someone in the

00:43:39balls, right?

00:43:39That's just against

00:43:40the rules.

00:43:41So, you have a rule

00:43:42called monogamy in

00:43:43relationships.

00:43:44So, once you've

00:43:45found someone and

00:43:46you're monogamous with

00:43:47them, and you stop

00:43:49looking for more

00:43:51things, right?

00:43:52It's like if you've

00:43:53moved to a house that

00:43:54you've now rented for a

00:43:55year, what's to stop

00:43:56you from just moving to

00:43:57another house and not

00:43:58paying the rent?

00:43:59It's like, well, you

00:43:59have a lease, and you

00:44:00kind of have to

00:44:00fulfill your

00:44:01obligations, right?

00:44:02So, you make a

00:44:04choice at some point,

00:44:05and you say, this

00:44:06person's good enough

00:44:06for me, I'm going to

00:44:08be monogamous, and

00:44:09then you stick with

00:44:09it.

00:44:10All right.

00:44:11Why do you assert

00:44:12philosophy, never having

00:44:14broken into the black

00:44:15box of our brains, can

00:44:17do anything RTFMRIs and

00:44:20PET scans have shown down

00:44:22to our unconscious

00:44:23making the decision for

00:44:24us five to ten seconds

00:44:25before it lets our

00:44:25consciousness know

00:44:26about it, and then

00:44:27lying to us, saying

00:44:28sure you thought of

00:44:29that, honest.

00:44:31What?

00:44:32Philosophy at best is

00:44:33like priests arguing

00:44:34how many angels can

00:44:35dance on the head of a

00:44:36pin, but more

00:44:36defarious because it

00:44:37gives the impression

00:44:38to non-technical

00:44:39plebs that philosophy

00:44:40isn't just mental

00:44:40masturbation after all.

00:44:41Spoilers.

00:44:42It sure effing is.

00:44:44We are sock puppets,

00:44:47not even being

00:44:48masters of ourselves.

00:44:49Why do you have such

00:44:49an anti-scientific

00:44:50bent?

00:44:52Steph, do you not know

00:44:53you don't know?

00:44:54You don't know?

00:44:55Oh, wait, BA or MA, not

00:44:57BS or MS or PhD in a

00:44:58hard science, FFS.

00:45:01Quote, unconscious

00:45:03neural activity in the

00:45:04prefrontal and parietal

00:45:05cortex can determine the

00:45:08outcome of a decision up

00:45:09to ten seconds before a

00:45:10person is consciously

00:45:10aware of making it,

00:45:11suggesting that some

00:45:12free decisions may be

00:45:13prepared unconsciously by

00:45:16the brain.

00:45:17Research, including

00:45:18studies like the one by

00:45:19Soon, Brass, Heinzee,

00:45:20and Haynes in 2008,

00:45:22uses neuroimaging to

00:45:23show this early brain

00:45:24activity, predicting

00:45:25choices leading to

00:45:26debate about the nature

00:45:27of free will and the

00:45:28role of conscious

00:45:29awareness in decision

00:45:30making.

00:45:33That's delightful.

00:45:35That is, thank you,

00:45:36big kisses.

00:45:38That is beyond

00:45:39beautiful, beyond

00:45:40delightful.

00:45:41I massively, deeply,

00:45:42and humbly appreciate

00:45:43you shoveling me this

00:45:45massive, massive pile of

00:45:48absolute bullshit.

00:45:49Oh, thank you, thank

00:45:51you, thank you, my

00:45:52friend.

00:45:52All right, let's look at

00:45:54this.

00:45:54All right.

00:45:57Why do you assert

00:45:58philosophy never having

00:45:58broken into the black

00:45:59box of our brains can do

00:46:00anything these PET scans

00:46:02have shown down to our

00:46:03unconscious making the

00:46:04decision?

00:46:05Five to ten seconds

00:46:05for it lets our

00:46:06consciousness know about

00:46:07it.

00:46:07All right.

00:46:08So he's saying we

00:46:09don't have any free will

00:46:10because our unconscious

00:46:12is just this machinery.

00:46:14So we don't have any

00:46:15free will, we don't have

00:46:15any moral responsibility,

00:46:17but Steph, you're such a

00:46:19liar.

00:46:22That's fantastic.

00:46:24Oh, my God.

00:46:27Brains are black boxes

00:46:28that we don't have any

00:46:29control because our

00:46:30unconscious makes the

00:46:30decisions.

00:46:31We have no moral

00:46:32responsibility.

00:46:33Steph, you freaking

00:46:35liar.

00:46:36And it's like, no, no,

00:46:40that is not, not, not

00:46:43the case.

00:46:45If, like, let's say, let's

00:46:48say that I'm misrepresenting

00:46:49something, right?

00:46:50But, you see, but my

00:46:52unconscious made the

00:46:54choice to misrepresent

00:46:58something and therefore

00:46:59it's not a misrepresentation.

00:47:00My unconscious, you see,

00:47:01just made the choice to

00:47:03misrepresent something which

00:47:04I'm not responsible for.

00:47:05So how dare you morally

00:47:07condemn me while saying

00:47:08there's no such thing as

00:47:09morality because we don't

00:47:10have any free will?

00:47:11Well, you absolute

00:47:12contemptible hypocrite.

00:47:15It's pathetic.

00:47:16It's embarrassing.

00:47:17It's manipulative.

00:47:18It's tween-pseudo-logic.

00:47:20And you should be deeply,

00:47:22deeply ashamed.

00:47:23Now, I can say that to

00:47:23you because I know that we

00:47:25have moral choices and

00:47:26you shouldn't be such a

00:47:27censorious and vicious

00:47:28little dirtbag of verbal

00:47:30abuse and so ridiculously

00:47:32hypocritical at the same

00:47:33time.

00:47:35So, I've known about these

00:47:37studies for a long time.

00:47:39I've talked about them

00:47:40multiple times in the

00:47:42past.

00:47:43So, why do you have such

00:47:44an anti-scientific bent,

00:47:45Steph?

00:47:46And it's like, well, because

00:47:48my unconscious told me to

00:47:49and I have no choice about

00:47:50it.

00:47:51Right?

00:47:51So, why would you be

00:47:51correcting someone if you

00:47:53say we don't have any free

00:47:54will?

00:47:54Again, you hypocritical son

00:47:56of a gun.

00:47:57It's ridiculous.

00:47:58How dare you correct me

00:48:00while saying human beings

00:48:01are automatons run by their

00:48:03unconscious and have no

00:48:03control over their actions?

00:48:05How dare you do the

00:48:07contemptible single out

00:48:09bullshit nonsense of

00:48:10saying, well, Steph, we're

00:48:12not responsible for our

00:48:14choices and our actions.

00:48:16So, why are you such a

00:48:17douchebag and liar and

00:48:19hypocrite?

00:48:20Ha ha ha!

00:48:21Oh, my God!

00:48:23Who in your life lets you

00:48:26get away with this

00:48:27absolutely retarded

00:48:29nonsense?

00:48:29I'm sorry, that's an

00:48:30insult to retarded people

00:48:31who would never type

00:48:32anything this ridiculous.

00:48:33Oh, my gosh!

00:48:35So, unconscious neural

00:48:36activity in the prefrontal

00:48:37and parietal cortex can

00:48:38determine the outcome of

00:48:39a decision up to 10 seconds

00:48:40before a person is

00:48:41consciously making blah blah

00:48:42blah blah.

00:48:42Okay.

00:48:43Yeah, I get that.

00:48:44And do you not also think

00:48:46that your unconscious is

00:48:48programmed by your choices

00:48:49as an adult?

00:48:51So, for instance, if you are

00:48:53a jazz musician, jazz pianist,

00:48:55then you can just noodle

00:48:56along and play along with

00:48:57all kinds of funky stuff

00:48:58that kind of happens

00:48:59spontaneously in a jazz

00:49:01quartet or whatever.

00:49:01You can do all of this

00:49:02cool, funky stuff

00:49:03and you get an instinct

00:49:05about the key changes.

00:49:07But that's all the result

00:49:08of you consciously

00:49:08deciding to learn

00:49:09piano, right?

00:49:11So, if you train yourself

00:49:13in moral courage,

00:49:14then if you're facing

00:49:16a moral challenge,

00:49:18your decision to be brave

00:49:20rather than cowardly

00:49:21would arise out of your

00:49:24prior commitment to

00:49:25your moral decisions,

00:49:28your moral courage.

00:49:29So, because you are

00:49:30morally courageous,

00:49:30when you're facing

00:49:31a moral challenge,

00:49:33your decision to continue

00:49:34to be morally courageous

00:49:35might emerge out

00:49:36of your unconscious,

00:49:37but that's the result

00:49:38of you consciously

00:49:38pursuing moral courage

00:49:39in the past.

00:49:41If you have studied

00:49:44martial arts for many years,

00:49:47right, then you know

00:49:49how to handle yourself

00:49:50in a street fight,

00:49:51assuming no weapons

00:49:52are involved

00:49:52or whatever it is, right?

00:49:54So then, if somebody

00:49:55starts pushing you around,

00:49:57your decision as to

00:49:59whether you're going

00:49:59to fight or run

00:50:00may occur before

00:50:02you're consciously

00:50:03aware of it,

00:50:04but that decision,

00:50:05of course,

00:50:05is going to be influenced

00:50:06by the amount of fight

00:50:06experience and your commitment

00:50:07to learning your martial art

00:50:09ahead of time, right?

00:50:10So the idea that

00:50:11we're just these puppets

00:50:13and our unconscious

00:50:13just does things,

00:50:15the unconscious

00:50:15and the conscious mind

00:50:16is a two-way street.

00:50:17The unconscious informs

00:50:18the conscious mind,

00:50:19the conscious mind,

00:50:20the conscious mind

00:50:21helps program

00:50:22the unconscious, right?

00:50:24So if you learn

00:50:25a new language, right,

00:50:26then your unconscious

00:50:28changes and now

00:50:29you can think

00:50:30and reason

00:50:30and converse

00:50:31in that language

00:50:32and so if somebody

00:50:34speaks to me

00:50:34in Japanese,

00:50:35my unconscious

00:50:36tells me don't speak

00:50:37to them because

00:50:38you can't speak

00:50:38to them in Japanese,

00:50:40right?

00:50:41However, if I have

00:50:42learned Japanese

00:50:43and I'm fluent in Japanese

00:50:44and somebody starts

00:50:45speaking to me

00:50:45in Japanese,

00:50:46my unconscious

00:50:46may say,

00:50:47yeah, you should

00:50:48have this conversation,

00:50:49could be interesting,

00:50:50right?

00:50:50So my prior decisions

00:50:51influence what

00:50:52my unconscious

00:50:52will tell me

00:50:54but I mean,

00:50:54come on,

00:50:55it's just,

00:50:55and the thing is too

00:50:56that not only

00:50:58are you completely

00:50:59wrong and hypocritical

00:51:00but also,

00:51:02you know,

00:51:02viciously empathetically

00:51:03aggressive

00:51:03which is a real

00:51:04sad,

00:51:05sad,

00:51:06pitiful

00:51:07combination.

00:51:08All right,

00:51:09have you,

00:51:10somebody asked,

00:51:10have you ever asked

00:51:11God to reveal himself

00:51:12to you

00:51:12or prove that he exists?

00:51:14God promises

00:51:15he will be found

00:51:15if we seek him

00:51:16wholeheartedly.

00:51:17Yeah, I've spent

00:51:18a lot of time,

00:51:19I mean,

00:51:19I was in the choir

00:51:20as a kid

00:51:21I would spend

00:51:21countless hours

00:51:22in church,

00:51:23my aunts

00:51:25who I lived with

00:51:25when my mother

00:51:26was hospitalized

00:51:27for depression,

00:51:27I lived with my aunts

00:51:28for a long,

00:51:29long time

00:51:30off and on

00:51:31and yeah,

00:51:32they brought me

00:51:32to church

00:51:33and I wholeheartedly

00:51:34pursued all of that.

00:51:36All right,

00:51:37Chris Langan claims

00:51:38that at the deepest

00:51:39layer of atomization,

00:51:41particles have a reality

00:51:42creating field

00:51:43that has not been

00:51:43formally recognized.

00:51:45If this were true,

00:51:46what are the

00:51:46philosophical implications?

00:51:48None.

00:51:49Yeah,

00:51:49there would be no

00:51:50philosophical implications

00:51:51because the murky

00:51:53quantum mechanics

00:51:54stuff that happens

00:51:55right down

00:51:55in the bowels

00:51:55of matter

00:51:56cancels itself out

00:51:57long before you get

00:51:58to sense data

00:51:59and philosophy

00:52:00operates at the level

00:52:01of sense data

00:52:02because philosophy

00:52:04is foundationally

00:52:04about morality

00:52:05and morality

00:52:06operates at the level

00:52:07of sense data.

00:52:08Did you strangle someone?

00:52:09Is there proof?

00:52:10Is there evidence?

00:52:11Did you steal?

00:52:11What's the evidence?

00:52:12What's the proof?

00:52:13And so on.

00:52:14And so because morality

00:52:14operates at the level

00:52:15of sense data,

00:52:16all of the funky stuff

00:52:17that happens down

00:52:18in the bowels

00:52:18of matter

00:52:18doesn't matter

00:52:20with regards to philosophy.

00:52:21It's interesting

00:52:22from a scientific standpoint.

00:52:24It may provide

00:52:25some very interesting

00:52:26and positive

00:52:27scientific understanding

00:52:29or progress.

00:52:30All of that's very interesting,

00:52:32but it has no bearing

00:52:33on philosophy.

00:52:35All right.

00:52:36What have we got here?

00:52:37The philosophy

00:52:38of the evil

00:52:39behind the scenes

00:52:39of the destruction

00:52:40of the West

00:52:40is rule over

00:52:41a heap of ashes.

00:52:42Well, I mean,

00:52:43human beings

00:52:44are divided

00:52:45into those

00:52:46who want to be free

00:52:47and those

00:52:47who want to control.

00:52:49Right?

00:52:49In general,

00:52:50those who want to be free

00:52:51tend to be more male.

00:52:53In general,

00:52:53those who want to control

00:52:54tend to be more feminine.

00:52:56If masculinity

00:52:56is freedom,

00:52:58femininity is control.

00:53:00And the reason

00:53:00for that, of course,

00:53:01is that women

00:53:02evolved to take care

00:53:03of babies and toddlers

00:53:04who are death

00:53:05and danger magnets

00:53:06and need to be rigidly

00:53:07controlled

00:53:07in order to prevent

00:53:09them from coming to harm.

00:53:10And therefore,

00:53:11freedom makes people anxious.

00:53:15It makes women anxious

00:53:15because freedom means

00:53:17freedom for disaster.

00:53:19And so,

00:53:20women want to protect

00:53:21and control the environment

00:53:22and manage people

00:53:24and control individuals

00:53:25and make sure

00:53:26they don't make

00:53:27terrible choices

00:53:27because they're programmed

00:53:28to keep babies

00:53:29and toddlers alive

00:53:30whereas men prefer freedom

00:53:32and a raw meritocracy

00:53:33because that's better

00:53:34for hunting

00:53:34and it's better

00:53:35for the survival

00:53:37of the provider,

00:53:38protective role

00:53:39that men have.

00:53:41What is the strongest why

00:53:42that can bear any how?

00:53:44This is a quote

00:53:45from Nietzsche.

00:53:46Give a man a why

00:53:46he can bear almost any how.

00:53:48If you have a purpose,

00:53:49if you have a real purpose,

00:53:51then you can find a way

00:53:52to make it happen.

00:53:54The strongest why

00:53:55is the promotion

00:53:56of virtue.

00:53:57It is the most exciting

00:53:58and dangerous sport

00:53:59known to man,

00:54:00God, or devil.

00:54:00All right.

00:54:02Let's see here.

00:54:04Do you feel

00:54:05that it is most ethical

00:54:07for powerful entities

00:54:08to look powerful?

00:54:10I don't know.

00:54:11This is a Bruce Lee argument

00:54:12that I don't quite

00:54:12really care about.

00:54:14It doesn't mean

00:54:14not worth caring about.

00:54:16It just means I don't care.

00:54:17Is reality objective

00:54:18or does it depend

00:54:19on our perception?

00:54:21But we only get

00:54:21the concept of objectivity

00:54:23through perceiving things,

00:54:24right?

00:54:24Again,

00:54:25sort of point of an oak tree,

00:54:26so that's an oak tree.

00:54:27If it is in fact

00:54:27an oak tree,

00:54:28I'm accurate.

00:54:28If it is a giraffe,

00:54:29I'm not accurate.

00:54:31So,

00:54:32reality

00:54:33is

00:54:34what it is.

00:54:35It exists

00:54:36independent of consciousness

00:54:37and objective

00:54:38refers to the operations

00:54:39of consciousness

00:54:40that accurately

00:54:41identify

00:54:42things in the real world.

00:54:45So,

00:54:45we only develop

00:54:46reason,

00:54:47consistency,

00:54:48objectivity,

00:54:48logic,

00:54:49and so on

00:54:49because the senses

00:54:50provide us

00:54:51accurate information

00:54:52about the behavior

00:54:52and objective properties

00:54:55of matter and energy.

00:54:56Do you believe

00:54:57in bounty hunting?

00:54:58No,

00:54:59that's an interesting question.

00:55:01It depends what you mean.

00:55:02Like,

00:55:02if you're like,

00:55:02there are some companies

00:55:03that will pay you

00:55:04money if you figure out

00:55:06their way through

00:55:06their networks

00:55:06or find bugs

00:55:08in their software

00:55:08or something like that.

00:55:09So,

00:55:09if you're talking about

00:55:10paying people

00:55:13to go catch others,

00:55:15I mean,

00:55:16yeah,

00:55:16it could happen.

00:55:16It would need to be

00:55:17obviously pretty tightly

00:55:18controlled in terms of

00:55:19the amount of violence

00:55:19or coercion that was used.

00:55:21But,

00:55:22in terms of bounties,

00:55:23what I would say,

00:55:24and I had a conversation

00:55:25about this with someone

00:55:26recently

00:55:26on X

00:55:29during the live streams,

00:55:30what I would say

00:55:31is that

00:55:33if there is

00:55:34a military leader

00:55:35in a state of society

00:55:36that is threatening

00:55:36a free society,

00:55:39then

00:55:39there is

00:55:40no

00:55:41method

00:55:44that I would

00:55:45have much

00:55:47of an issue with

00:55:47that would prevent

00:55:49that war

00:55:49from coming

00:55:49to being,

00:55:50right?

00:55:51So,

00:55:51you could put a bounty

00:55:52on that person's head

00:55:52as is an old

00:55:53Harry Brown argument

00:55:54and we'd say

00:55:55you put a bounty

00:55:55on the

00:55:56status leader's head

00:55:58and include

00:55:59that his wife

00:56:00or his wife

00:56:01or wives

00:56:01can collect

00:56:03that bounty,

00:56:04so.

00:56:04Could be

00:56:05certainly better

00:56:05than a war,

00:56:06right?

00:56:07Is any behavior

00:56:08involving inaction

00:56:09compliant with UPB?

00:56:10In other words,

00:56:11the only behavior

00:56:11that can't be UPB

00:56:12is the initiation

00:56:13of action.

00:56:14Is there a gray area

00:56:15I am missing?

00:56:17Is any behavior

00:56:18involving inaction

00:56:20compliant with UPB?

00:56:22Yeah.

00:56:23I mean,

00:56:23sorry,

00:56:24maybe I'm missing

00:56:24something,

00:56:25but if you don't

00:56:26steal something,

00:56:27you're not a thief.

00:56:28That's a non-action.

00:56:29That's compliant

00:56:30with UPB.

00:56:31If you don't

00:56:32rape someone,

00:56:33you're not a rapist.

00:56:35That is compliant

00:56:36with UPB,

00:56:36right?

00:56:37If you don't

00:56:38murder someone,

00:56:39you get the general

00:56:39idea.

00:56:40So,

00:56:41non-actions

00:56:41are compliant

00:56:42with UPB.

00:56:45So,

00:56:46maybe again,

00:56:46maybe I'm missing

00:56:47something,

00:56:47but that's sort of

00:56:48the essence of it,

00:56:48right?

00:56:50All right.

00:56:5114.

00:56:52Meaning cannot be proven.

00:56:53That said,

00:56:54we are left facing

00:56:54nothingness.

00:56:56Go back to belief

00:56:57in proven meaning,

00:56:58fanaticism,

00:56:59go down into

00:57:00the nothingness nihilism,

00:57:01go forth.

00:57:01How?

00:57:02Meaning cannot be

00:57:03proven.

00:57:05Okay,

00:57:05I did a whole,

00:57:05I did a whole

00:57:06series on,

00:57:08a big philosophical

00:57:09podcast on meaning,

00:57:11fdrpodcast.com.

00:57:12I think it was this month

00:57:13in August 2025.

00:57:14I just go do a search

00:57:15for that.

00:57:16Is fiat currency

00:57:17and fractional reserve

00:57:18banking immoral

00:57:19under UPB?

00:57:21Well,

00:57:22fiat currency

00:57:22is immoral.

00:57:23Fiat means

00:57:24by violent decree.

00:57:25So you can't

00:57:26initiate the use of force

00:57:27to get people to

00:57:28have to use

00:57:30your ass-wipe currency.

00:57:31A fractional

00:57:32reserve banking,

00:57:33so that is

00:57:33lending out

00:57:34a multiple

00:57:35of the deposits

00:57:36in your institution.

00:57:37As long as it's

00:57:38on the up and up,

00:57:38as long as people

00:57:39are aware of the risks,

00:57:40as long as

00:57:41the fractional reserve

00:57:42methodology

00:57:43and exposure

00:57:45is published,

00:57:47it's not immoral.

00:57:48Steph,

00:57:49as one of the smartest

00:57:49people I know of,

00:57:51thank you,

00:57:52why haven't you

00:57:52made the leap

00:57:53from second-order

00:57:53principled morality

00:57:55to third-order

00:57:56long-term

00:57:57equilibrium morality.

00:57:59At some point,

00:57:59you were supposed

00:58:00to stop caring

00:58:00about the minor

00:58:01details of moral

00:58:02principles and focus

00:58:03on the social,

00:58:04societal-level

00:58:04equilibrium points.

00:58:05Is there a reason

00:58:06you never made

00:58:06that revolution?

00:58:08It's a bit of

00:58:08a douchebag move

00:58:09to just use

00:58:11a bunch of

00:58:11word salad things

00:58:12to imply that

00:58:13I'm somehow

00:58:13limited in my

00:58:15proof of

00:58:16secular ethics,

00:58:17which is a feat

00:58:18never before

00:58:18achieved in philosophy

00:58:19and which really

00:58:20is the philosophical

00:58:20holy grail,

00:58:21and say,

00:58:21oh yes,

00:58:22but I was so

00:58:23much more beyond

00:58:23these petty

00:58:25little absolute

00:58:25proofs of

00:58:26objective morality

00:58:27that you've

00:58:27developed,

00:58:28and there's

00:58:28something called

00:58:29third-order

00:58:31long-term

00:58:31equilibrium

00:58:32morality.

00:58:33I mean,

00:58:34there's a word

00:58:34salad,

00:58:35and it's kind

00:58:35of insulting,

00:58:36right,

00:58:36to just say,

00:58:37well,

00:58:37Steph,

00:58:38you're just

00:58:38so limited

00:58:39in your thinking,

00:58:40and let me

00:58:40give you a word

00:58:41salad that shows

00:58:41you just how

00:58:42limited you are

00:58:43in your thinking

00:58:43and so on,

00:58:44right?

00:58:44If you have

00:58:45a superior

00:58:46proof to

00:58:47morality,

00:58:48then I would

00:58:50love to hear it,

00:58:50and if I can

00:58:51enhance or

00:58:52refine UPB

00:58:53or develop it

00:58:53further,

00:58:54I'm happy to

00:58:54hear it,

00:58:55but don't just

00:58:55say,

00:58:56well,

00:58:56you're kind of

00:58:56limited,

00:58:57man.

00:58:59Okay,

00:58:59I think I'll do

00:59:00American pragmatists

00:59:01another time.

00:59:01Why do you do

00:59:02philosophy,

00:59:03Steph?

00:59:04Because it's the

00:59:04most important

00:59:05thing that can

00:59:06be done,

00:59:07and I'm

00:59:08extraordinarily good

00:59:09at it.

00:59:09I'm not obviously

00:59:10good at everything,

00:59:11there's tons of

00:59:12things I'm not

00:59:12good at,

00:59:12but philosophy

00:59:13is kind of

00:59:14unbeatable.

00:59:14So I do it

00:59:16because it's the

00:59:16most important

00:59:16thing to do,

00:59:17and I'm

00:59:18very good

00:59:18at it,

00:59:19and that

00:59:20combination of

00:59:21things almost

00:59:22takes away

00:59:22free will,

00:59:23as far as

00:59:23that goes,

00:59:24right?

00:59:25So when you

00:59:26are very good

00:59:27at something

00:59:28that is,

00:59:29you know,

00:59:30absolutely essential

00:59:31for the world,

00:59:33then it's kind of

00:59:35tough to say no,

00:59:36right?

00:59:36So if you had

00:59:37the capacity

00:59:38to cure

00:59:39cancer victims

00:59:41with a touch,

00:59:42you kind of have

00:59:43an obligation to

00:59:44do that,

00:59:44right?

00:59:45So I just,

00:59:46I sort of take

00:59:47the accidental

00:59:48gifts that I

00:59:49was given

00:59:49very,

00:59:50very seriously,

00:59:51and I almost

00:59:53don't have

00:59:53free will

00:59:54when it comes

00:59:55to that,

00:59:55because if,

00:59:56given the

00:59:57technology and

00:59:58this great

00:59:59audience and

01:00:00what I'm able

01:00:00to do

01:00:00intellectually,

01:00:01I think this

01:00:03is a now or

01:00:03never opportunity

01:00:05for philosophy

01:00:06as a whole,

01:00:07right?

01:00:07Because philosophy

01:00:08has been around

01:00:09for 3,000 years,

01:00:10didn't solve

01:00:11free will,

01:00:11didn't solve

01:00:12love,

01:00:12didn't solve

01:00:13the problem

01:00:13of ethics,

01:00:14didn't solve

01:00:15the problem

01:00:15of statism

01:00:17from a moral

01:00:17standpoint,

01:00:18and so I've

01:00:20done these

01:00:21things as a

01:00:21whole,

01:00:22and I get

01:00:23that, you

01:00:24know,

01:00:24standing on

01:00:24the shoulders

01:00:25of giants

01:00:25and all of

01:00:26that,

01:00:26I'm not

01:00:26trying to

01:00:26make this

01:00:27about me

01:00:27or vanity,

01:00:28but false

01:00:29modesty is

01:00:30just a kind

01:00:30of hypocrisy

01:00:31and I don't

01:00:32want to lie

01:00:32to you guys

01:00:32about anything.

01:00:34So,

01:00:35because the

01:00:37technology has

01:00:37arrived,

01:00:38because free

01:00:40speech is

01:00:41still mostly

01:00:42valid in

01:00:44many ways,

01:00:46because we

01:00:47have this

01:00:47technology,

01:00:48I have this

01:00:48audience,

01:00:49and because I

01:00:50have my

01:00:51particular skills

01:00:51and abilities,

01:00:53it's now

01:00:53or never.

01:00:54And I honestly,

01:00:55I feel like this

01:00:56inverted pyramid

01:00:57of responsibility

01:00:57on my shoulders

01:00:58every day,

01:01:00just straight up

01:01:01telling you about

01:01:01my experience

01:01:03of philosophy.

01:01:05I don't

01:01:06necessarily

01:01:07relish the

01:01:08fact that I

01:01:08was given

01:01:09all of these

01:01:09gifts of

01:01:10eloquence and

01:01:11reasoning and

01:01:12communication and

01:01:13debate and all

01:01:13this kind of

01:01:13stuff.

01:01:14I don't relish

01:01:15that fact.

01:01:16It has at

01:01:17times in my

01:01:18life felt

01:01:19extraordinarily

01:01:20unfortunate,

01:01:21but it is

01:01:22what it is.

01:01:23I have been

01:01:23given an

01:01:24extraordinary set

01:01:25of gifts,

01:01:26and I also

01:01:27had an

01:01:28extraordinary set

01:01:29of life

01:01:29circumstances

01:01:30that led me

01:01:31to, at

01:01:32least I hope

01:01:33maximally,

01:01:34activate and

01:01:35utilize those

01:01:37gifts.

01:01:37So, I have a

01:01:38fairly pleasant

01:01:39speaking voice,

01:01:39I have an

01:01:40interesting accent,

01:01:40I am not

01:01:41ugly, and I

01:01:44have good

01:01:44health, and I

01:01:46mean, I was

01:01:47raised by a

01:01:48crazy woman in

01:01:49a fairly crazy

01:01:50society, so I

01:01:50learned the value

01:01:51of reason very

01:01:52early and don't

01:01:53compromise with

01:01:54mysticism.

01:01:55And, you know, I

01:01:56studied English

01:01:57literature, which

01:01:57made me a good

01:01:58writer, I

01:01:58studied acting

01:01:59and playwriting,

01:02:00which made me a

01:02:01fairly good

01:02:01performer, and I

01:02:03studied history,

01:02:04which made me

01:02:05good at

01:02:06understanding the

01:02:08products and

01:02:08precepts of

01:02:09history, and

01:02:10then I was in

01:02:11the business

01:02:11world, so I

01:02:11learned the

01:02:12value of the

01:02:12free market and

01:02:13voluntary

01:02:14transactions, and

01:02:15sort of, you

01:02:16name it, like

01:02:16there's just been

01:02:17this whole odd

01:02:18coincidence of

01:02:19things that have

01:02:20given me this

01:02:21path forward.

01:02:23I also happened to

01:02:23meet this wonderful

01:02:24woman, I've had the

01:02:25great privilege of

01:02:26being a stay-at-home

01:02:27dad, and I

01:02:29thank everyone for

01:02:30that, free

01:02:31domain.com

01:02:32slash donate, if

01:02:33you would like to

01:02:34sort of continue to

01:02:35help out with that

01:02:35experiment as it

01:02:36goes forward.

01:02:37So I've had a lot

01:02:38of things that

01:02:39kind of came

01:02:39together to give

01:02:41me the abilities to

01:02:43be able to do what

01:02:45I'm doing, and of

01:02:46course, I practiced

01:02:46philosophy for 20

01:02:47years before I ever

01:02:48became a public

01:02:49figure, more than

01:02:5020 years really, and

01:02:52I'm coming up on 20

01:02:53years, I think, this

01:02:55October, my sort of

01:02:56first article published.

01:02:58So I have very much

01:03:00felt this, it's not

01:03:03quite a crushing

01:03:04weight, but it is a

01:03:06severe and sincere

01:03:07obligation that if

01:03:10it's not me, then

01:03:13who?

01:03:13And if not now, then

01:03:15when?

01:03:15And I'm sort of very

01:03:16aware of 3,000 years

01:03:18of philosophy, absent

01:03:21this incredible

01:03:22technology that allows

01:03:23us to have these

01:03:23conversations and

01:03:25these communications.

01:03:25Can you imagine

01:03:26having to order a

01:03:27crate of hand-copied

01:03:28cassettes from me for

01:03:30$10,000 to get a

01:03:31bunch of podcasts?

01:03:32It'd be crazy, right?

01:03:33But everything has

01:03:35kind of come together

01:03:36in what I do and

01:03:39what we do together.

01:03:40Again, these great

01:03:41questions and great

01:03:42comments, great

01:03:42conversations.

01:03:43I mean, I absolutely

01:03:44love you guys as an

01:03:45audience, and it is

01:03:47with great humility

01:03:48that I serve the

01:03:48gifts that I have

01:03:51been given, and the

01:03:55extremely weighty

01:03:56responsibility of if

01:03:58not me, who, and if

01:03:59not now, when?

01:03:59And I feel that

01:04:01everything, kind of,

01:04:03the planets aligned in

01:04:04what it is that we're

01:04:04doing here as a

01:04:05community and what I'm

01:04:06able to do as a

01:04:07philosopher.

01:04:07The planets have kind

01:04:08of aligned, and I

01:04:10have to make the most

01:04:11engaging and strenuous

01:04:14and rigorous case for

01:04:15responsibility, freedom,

01:04:17virtue, reason, and

01:04:19morality that I can.

01:04:21And, you know, the bad

01:04:22guys have all their

01:04:23energy, the bad guys

01:04:24have control of fiat

01:04:27currency, control of the

01:04:28educational system,

01:04:29control of the media,

01:04:30control of the

01:04:30universities, right?

01:04:32All I have, as the

01:04:33song says, is three

01:04:34chords and the truth.

01:04:35So, I do take this

01:04:37responsibility with

01:04:39extraordinary, serious,

01:04:42extraordinarily seriously

01:04:43and with great humility.

01:04:46And it is what I think

01:04:48about in the morning

01:04:48when I wake up, like

01:04:50today I woke up and

01:04:51then grabbed a coffee

01:04:52and immediately went to

01:04:53work on my new book,

01:04:55wrote my second to last

01:04:56chapter, I'm on chapter

01:04:5723, I have one more

01:04:59chapter to go, which I

01:05:00then will record and

01:05:01release, and hopefully

01:05:01this will do some great

01:05:02good in the world.

01:05:05And then I've had lunch

01:05:06with my family, and

01:05:08then this afternoon I'm

01:05:10answering these

01:05:10questions, I did some

01:05:11technical work on the

01:05:12show earlier, and then

01:05:14tonight I do my

01:05:14live stream, and it's

01:05:17something that organizes

01:05:19and focuses everything

01:05:20that I do over the

01:05:22course of the day.

01:05:23And I'm extraordinarily

01:05:24pleased that the work

01:05:28that I do is stored on

01:05:31millions of computers

01:05:32all over the world.

01:05:34It will be immune to

01:05:36really any kind of

01:05:37predictable destruction,

01:05:39and it will last forever.

01:05:42And I will, of course, be

01:05:43judged by higher standards

01:05:44than currently exist, and

01:05:47that which is taboo now

01:05:48will be a common topic in

01:05:49the future, and I

01:05:51accept that.

01:05:52I mean, I've even

01:05:53noticed in the half

01:05:53decade that I was off

01:05:54X, the topics that were

01:05:56formerly taboo are now

01:05:57generally accepted, if

01:05:59not downright welcomed.

01:06:01So, I do have a great

01:06:04deal of responsibility,

01:06:07given what I can do.

01:06:09And given how far, I

01:06:11mean, this is a big

01:06:11experiment and question

01:06:13for me as a whole, which

01:06:14is how far can I move

01:06:16philosophy forward in the

01:06:18span of my meager and

01:06:20transient lifespan?

01:06:22How much can I move

01:06:23things forward?

01:06:24I don't expect there to

01:06:25be much change in the

01:06:26general zeitgeist or

01:06:27culture, but that's fine.

01:06:29I mean, the plan of a

01:06:30philosopher has to be

01:06:31measured in centuries, not

01:06:33in years or decades.

01:06:36I expect there to be

01:06:37incomprehension.

01:06:38I expect there to be

01:06:39confusion.

01:06:40I expect there to be

01:06:41massive amounts of

01:06:42hostility.

01:06:42I always can improve.

01:06:44I just put something out

01:06:44on X today, which got a

01:06:46lot of responses, which

01:06:47was, what is it that I

01:06:51do that is annoying or

01:06:52off-putting?

01:06:53Maybe I can improve.

01:06:55Maybe in the

01:06:56anticipation of

01:06:57hostility that comes with

01:06:58being a moralist, I can

01:06:59be a little too punchy,

01:07:00certainly a possible

01:07:01answer.

01:07:03But on the other hand,

01:07:03if I'm not punchy

01:07:04enough, then people

01:07:05don't get that

01:07:06certainty.

01:07:07People get annoyed at

01:07:08me for being too

01:07:08certain, but if I'm not

01:07:10certain, then there's no

01:07:11such thing as

01:07:11philosophy.

01:07:13The whole purpose of

01:07:14medicine is to have

01:07:15some certain treatments,

01:07:17not, eh, cross your

01:07:18fingers, right?

01:07:19That would be a drug

01:07:19pusher.

01:07:20So, I have to have

01:07:22certainty when I've

01:07:23achieved certainty.

01:07:23I have to have doubt

01:07:24when I have not achieved

01:07:25certainty, the wisdom to

01:07:27know the difference and the

01:07:28methodology to expand what

01:07:29I know into what I don't.

01:07:31So, it is like being

01:07:34conscripted by history, by

01:07:37humanity's need for

01:07:38philosophy, by my own

01:07:40abilities, and by this

01:07:41technology.

01:07:42I mean, I much rather would

01:07:42be running a business and

01:07:45writing books as I used

01:07:46to do.

01:07:47That was my great sweet

01:07:49spot and pleasure, and

01:07:50I don't mind the

01:07:52controversy, but it's not

01:07:53like I thrive on it.

01:07:55It is sort of the nature

01:07:56of the beast.

01:07:57I mean, if you get the

01:07:58job, all the other

01:08:00actors are kind of

01:08:02nonplussed about that,

01:08:03right?

01:08:04And so, the fact that

01:08:05there is hostility from

01:08:08the softest and the

01:08:08confused and so on, I

01:08:10get.

01:08:11Punching back when

01:08:12punched at, I think, is

01:08:13valid and reasonable

01:08:15and fair, and I don't

01:08:19think it's wise to just

01:08:23wait for another couple

01:08:25of thousand years for the

01:08:27planets to align in the

01:08:28way that they have for

01:08:30philosophy to improve and

01:08:32become relevant and

01:08:33rational and actionable.

01:08:35I mean, it's been 3,000

01:08:36years.

01:08:37I think that the work that

01:08:39I do is the most

01:08:40actionable philosophy that

01:08:42has been developed.

01:08:44And if I don't do it, do

01:08:47we just wait for another

01:08:48couple of thousand years?

01:08:49And what does humanity

01:08:50look like after another

01:08:51couple of thousand years

01:08:52without robust and

01:08:54objective moral philosophy

01:08:56in particular?

01:08:57So, and I'm also aware,

01:08:59of course, that since I

01:09:01have, through sheer force

01:09:03of will and with the help

01:09:04of the community and

01:09:05experts who've chimed in,

01:09:07caused the number of

01:09:09assaults against children

01:09:10to be about one and a half

01:09:12billion less.

01:09:13Now, no matter what I want

01:09:15to do with my own

01:09:16particular life, it doesn't

01:09:18really matter relative to

01:09:20the ability to talk to the

01:09:22world and reduce the number

01:09:24of assaults and abuses

01:09:25against helpless and

01:09:27dependent children.

01:09:28What would it matter what I

01:09:30wanted to do if I'm capable

01:09:32of doing that?

01:09:34And that sustains

01:09:36everything about what I do.

01:09:39So I hope that helps, at

01:09:40least, give you this sort of

01:09:42lift, little lifting the

01:09:44curtain to see what goes on

01:09:46in my heart and mind on a

01:09:47daily basis.

01:09:48And this is why, like, I'm

01:09:50unstoppable, saved by death.

01:09:52The responsibility is too

01:09:54great, the opportunity is too

01:09:55unique, and humanity should

01:09:57not wait for another couple of

01:09:58thousand years for the

01:10:00planets to align in this way

01:10:02again.

01:10:03I hope that helps.

01:10:04Freedomain.com slash

01:10:05donate if you would like to

01:10:06help support philosophy.

01:10:07I would deeply, humbly, and

01:10:08gratefully appreciate it.

01:10:09Thank you, everyone, for

01:10:11these questions.

01:10:11I'm sorry I didn't get them

01:10:12finished, but I will get to

01:10:13the other ones, hopefully,

01:10:14this weekend.

01:10:16I did.

01:10:17I'm up to page 17 out of

01:10:1830.

01:10:20So not bad, not bad.

01:10:21All right.

01:10:22Thanks, everyone.

01:10:23Have yourselves a great

01:10:24and wonderful day.

01:10:26I guess I'll talk to you in a

01:10:27little bit over an

01:10:28an hour.

01:10:30Bye.

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